King of Thailand reduced the 8-year jail sentence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to one year.

The King of Thailand on Friday (September 1) reduced the jail sentence of the country's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from eight years to one year. In fact, Shinawatra had recently returned to Thailand after 15 years in self-imposed exile from the country.

This decision of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn regarding Thaksin Shinawatra was published in the Royal Gazette on Friday. After this, the king's decision became effective immediately. Thaksin was the Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Thaksin was ousted in a military coup. In 2008, when he faced a prison sentence on charges described as politically motivated, he fled Thailand.

Thaksin Shinawatra returned home on August 22 after years of self-imposed exile abroad. The Supreme Court has found Thaksin guilty of three separate cases of abuse of power and malfeasance. Apart from this, he is also accused of illegally ordering a government bank to issue foreign loans and illegally holding 'shares' through people he nominated.

Thaksin was ousted as Prime Minister of Thailand in a military coup in 2008 over corruption charges. Since then he has been living outside the country.